Failure's Price
by Natalie Nallareet
Summary: "I told you we would find you. I told you that if anything went wrong, if we never got our hands on the Tesseract, that you would pay. And now your time has run out..." When the leader of the Chitauri had threatened Loki, it wasn't an empty threat. Thorki, post-Avengers, one-shot.


**A/C: **Despite all the other plot bunnies on my waiting list, I accidently Thorkid after rewatching the Avengers. Just a one-shot this time, but there should be the large Thorki story coming soon. Post Avengers.

**Rated T** for torture.

**This chapters pov:**_ Jumping between third person with Thor and Loki_

* * *

The surface of the planet glittered, the black fragments of dust settling from their cloud amongst the shards of glass, and the body that lay feet away from the center of the crater. Each muscle in his body vibrated with burning pain, but he managed to lift himself onto his elbows, craning his neck to get a better look at where he was. The blond hair fell gently onto his armored shoulders, the red cape sagging around him, torn and shredded from the impact. His eyes narrowed, an enormous hammer twisting in his hands as he heaved himself up even further. There was something very wrong with this picture, worse than the planet shrouded in fog and the unknown. The thing that worried Thor, son of Odin and ruler of Asgard, the most was that he was completely alone. There was no bound brother by his side, his black hair slicked back, and his eyes proving how completely lost he was... Loki had disappeared.

It only took a moment for the Asgardian to realize where he had landed. And it took less than that moment to spring into a sprint, his muscles heaving in effort to run as fast as he could, in order to get to Loki in time. Maybe there was no time, maybe he had been knocked out for so long, that Loki would already be too broken for repair.

* * *

Several minutes passed before the would-be-king oriented himself. It was dim, the soft glow of blue light radiating from the stones around the floating shards that use to be a glorious planet. Use to be, but not now. The war had shattered it, a bomb exploding all the soldiers and civilians alike. Shredding the craft of all its protecting layers, to leave the very heart of the planet, only the leader remaining alive. But that would be enough.

"I told you we would find you. I told you that if anything went wrong, if we never got our hands on the Tesseract, that you would pay. And now your time has run out, and those little puny humans have given that power back to your people," someone hissed, the rough edges of the voice achingly familiar, even before Loki managed to open his eyes. The leader of Chitauri stood before him, grinning wickedly as he brandished a double edged knife that he grasped in between the spindly claws. "You never knew pain, frost giant. You're just a mewling child grasping at a throne with your big, bad stick."

Loki said nothing, just gritted his teeth in preparation to the inevitable to come. His hands and feet were bound with steel and clasps of iron, holding him steady on the examining table. Several crude tools comprised of claws, rocks, and shards of blades were compiled at Loki's feet, presumably for Chitauri to use on him. Loki's thoughts were a babbled array of devastation-even fear-but the one thought that was clear in his mind was; Where did Thor go?

The beginning started slow, the glinting eyes of Chitauri were trained on Loki, a malicious smile twisted across his face. He spat on the blade, carefully slicing the dagger right below Loki's knee, twisting the edge so it skimmed the edge of the joint. As if the excruciating pain wasn't enough, searing the entire leg senseless, the Chitauri's venom burned holes through the flesh, scorching from beneath the skin and breaking open new wounds. That was just the first cut. That knife traveled all the way up Loki's leg, before starting at his other knee, crippling his lower half useless. The entire time, Loki screamed; he couldn't help it. The only way the trickster kept conscious between all the pain, was the one thought Loki kept running through his mind; Thor's going to come, any moment now, he'll show up and save me.

"I can make you burn, everything about you," the Chitauri hissed, laughing softly with each word, his claws raking down the sides of Loki's face. He then proceeded to take a particularly jagged rock and scrape it over the raw, injured skin, the edges digging in and piercing the harassed skin

Suddenly, the Chitauri froze in place, a look of bewildered fury crossing his face as a shot of lighting flew through the armored creature. He fell to the ground, both blade and rock still clutched in his hands. From the edge of his vision, Loki could just make out Thor, swinging his hammer in effort to get to the surviving crater.

"Thor?" Loki breathed weakly, his eyes fluttering slightly in effort to stay awake.

"Brother, I'm here," Thor assured him, leaning over the injured body of Loki, his hands shaking as he tore the boundage away. "Doth thou hold the strength to walk?"

As if in answer, Loki slid from the table, collapsing in a heap in Thor's outstretched arms. Loki's head lolled, his breathing coming even more raggedly.

"Stay with me, Loki," Thor pleaded, holding his adopted brother, bridle side. Yet still, Loki's eyes began to close. It shouldn't be enough to kill, but Thor didn't want to have to count on getting him into a safe spot. Loki needed something to concentrate on, Thor realized. His mind a blur with desperation, he leaned down and kissed Loki on the lips.

Loki's bulged and he gasped for air frantically. For a moment they just sat there in silence. Then Loki weakly extended his neck, groping upward in effort to have another kiss, one that would last longer. That seemed to keep him concentrated anyway.

"I'll keep thy safe," Thor promised, once he had drawn away from the second kiss. There was no way, after all this, that Loki would be subjected to the Asgardian law, he had suffered enough.


End file.
